Let You Down
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: "Have you seen Kevin?"


**A/N: Drabble. End feels so weak, but I was so completely exhausted by the end of it…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own, m'dearies.**

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><p><strong><em>Let You Down<em>**

"Have you seen Kevin?"

Julie's eyes widened in horror. "He was with you last night," she said, one hand holding a purple-tinted bouquet while the other worked to smooth out her pleated dress. "You said you'd keep an eye on him."

Ben's teeth gritted together. He pounded a fist against the wall they were hiding behind. "Damn it!" The man shut his eyes and tried to focus for a long moment. "His car wasn't there this morning, I didn't hear him sneak out, and Cooper was supposed to be watching him." He felt like an idiot, and not just because he was wearing an ivory tuxedo. "Do you think there's any chance..."

"He is late sometimes," she offered, trying to keep her voice hopeful for him. Julie was already running through places in her head, trying to think of the most likely places Kevin would be without being too obvious about hiding. "Maybe he's at home getting ready."

"Or flaking on Gwen." He let out an infuriated huff. "He always does this. Always." He leaned against the wall, feeling completely sick to his stomach. "He's never been reliable enough for her. She deserves so much more." Guilt sat in his chest; saying such cruel things about his best friend felt dirty and wrong, but there were some things that Levin earned by being an imbecile.

There was a sinking feeling in her chest. She turned and looked around the corner at everyone waiting for Kevin to show up, to get there in the nick of time.

"And she was so _terrified _that he wouldn't show." Ben couldn't stop himself. He just felt so _bad _for his cousin. They were like siblings, and her fiancée wasn't showing up to their goddamn wedding... "She didn't want to say yes because of this. She didn't want to look like an idiot because he freaked out over commitment."

Julie put a hand on her own husband's shoulder, hoping to at least settle him down. "But she said yes because she loves him, and he loves her."

It was a fact anyone would be painfully aware of: Kevin Levin and Gwendolyn Tennyson had always been madly in love. And not the sickening puppy dog crap. It was the hardcore "I'll die for you" and always touchy-feely and the way they never stopped being in love. It was _them _and that was what made them so incredible together.

"But Julie, he has no excuse. I didn't show up on our wedding day because of Vilgax trying to obliterate Manhattan. That's an excuse. Kevin's not here because he's scared. He doesn't want her controlling him, that's the real problem." Ben felt the anger boiling up in him, his blood rushing through his veins faster than ever before.

"Ben-"

"No, Julie! He's afraid of commitment, afraid of having to give up his lifestyle, of starting a family. He has no sense of responsibility!"

She squeezed his shoulder hard enough to be painful, which got him to shut up quickly enough. "Let's at least drive over to their apartment. He had to have grabbed some clothes before he left. There's bound to be something there."

"We can't leave Gwe-"

"She's a big girl, Ben." She patted his head twice before shooting him a playful smile and moving to the church's entrance. Pushing open the doors, she moved for the stairs immediately, eyes scanning the lot for any signs of her husband's car.

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><p>She pushed aside a small pile of clothes in the single bedroom. "Nothing."<p>

"He definitely left in a hurry though." Ben's jaw clenched in anger. "He flaked."

"Ben."

He rifled through the mail, looking for anything from distant planets or previous dealers. There was nothing but bills and magazines. He moved on to the stack of newspapers next to the mail. "I know he left her, Julie. I'm not stupid."

His tone stung, but she said nothing. She continued to prod at clothes and papers carefully, trying not to get anything on her dress; most of Kevin's wardrobe was stained with oil. "How drunk were you all last night?" she asked.

From the kitchen, Ben answered, "Cooper doesn't drink, so he was our designated driver. And Kevin had a few shots. I don't think he was bad enough to disappear. He seemed conscious enough to make the decision to have Alan and Pierce sleep in the hotel room bed together because he thought it'd be funny for Alan to get pricked in the middle of the night-" He only realized how bad it sounded after he said it. "-but he was still drunk."

"But he's got good tolerance." Julie pulled down the blanket on the bed, looking at the rumpled, messy sheets. And the slip of paper on the pillow. "Ben..."

He dropped the newspapers to follow the sound of her voice, ducking into the room and standing beside her, hands on her hips, looking over her shoulder at whatever she was seeing. "What is it?"

She picked up the little note, lower lip quivering as she read it. And she felt her heart breaking for them. He'd left because he loved her.

_I will only let you down._

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><p><strong>AN: Review?**

**~Sky**


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